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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: calf · chest · foot · staff · key · fan · deal · cold

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — not warm
  3. staff — a stick
  4. key — the most important part
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. foot — a measure
  9. chest — of your body
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chest — a box
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. key — in music
  20. staff — employees
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com